According to the report, the law requires medical staff to be available around the clock, but detainees were told they had to wait until the clinic opened in the morning to receive care.

"It was only because of the large volume of complaints that the administration eventually called the clinic staff to come in earlier," stated the report.

ICE responded to those allegations saying that each detainee's needs are first triaged in a face-to-face encounter. "Those who are in need of immediate attention will be sent to the medical unit right away for evaluation and immediate treatment. Those whose situations are less urgent will receive treatment at the appointed time," said an ICE statement.

Even when there isn't a medical rush, the report quotes detainees saying that if they want to see the facility's doctor, they are forced to literally stand in a line for up to four hours.

ICE rejected that allegation saying there are both holding cells and seats where detainees can wait for treatment.

"No one is required to stand in line for any length of time. If there is a delay in receiving non-urgent medical treatment, detainees are returned to their pod until the medical staff can see them," said ICE's statement.

On December 13, 2006, detainee Jesus Cervantes-Corona died at the center, but the report states that that "the full circumstances of his death have not been disclosed by ICE or GEO."

"The bottom line is that there are serious violations of international human rights standards and constitutional due process standards at the facility," said Pramila Jayapal, Executive Director of OneAmerica.

"We don't believe this is just an isolated case, this follows a pattern of what's happening around the country," said Jayapal.

"The problem is that there is no legally binding or enforceable standard that governs immigration detention," said Jayapal.

Elenor Acer, Director of the Refugee Protection Program for Human Rights First, agrees, saying that the report reflects "a national problem" of non-criminal detainees being held in penal facilities without adequate safeguards. Human Rights First was not involved in preparing the report.

In May, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act, which would require the Department of Homeland Security to "establish timely and effective health care" and to keep track of all detainee deaths. The bill is currently before the Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Menendez called the "systemic problems" in the immigration detention system "atrocious and unacceptable."

"At some point, this becomes more than a legal issue – it becomes a human rights issue," said Menendez in an email to ABC News. "We must hold onto our moral ground as a beacon of democracy and a leader in human rights around the world. We must secure our country while protecting the dignity of all human beings."

Immigration detention has become big business in the past decade. According to the report, the number of people in immigration detention centers has tripled, from 95,000 in 2001 to 300,000 in 2007. On any given day, nearly 30,000 immigrants are detained, up from just 5,000 in 1994.

"The surge in detention is an enormous problem," said Jayapal. "As long as we can't ensure constitutional protections are provided, we should not be detaining people."

Julia Dahl is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Salon, The Columbia Journalism Review and Guernica, among others.